Why does the child turn yellow after birth

Briefly about the problem

Why does the child still change color? In most cases, this phenomenon does not refer to pathologies and does not require any medical treatment. The yellowness of the skin and eye proteins is caused by an increase in the level of bilirubin, which the infant liver can not cope with. This pigment, which, in turn, is the product of the disintegration of blood cells, increases in quantity due to the change in the growing body of embryonic hemoglobin to the "adult". During this process, a lot of dead blood cells appear, of which a lot of bilirubin is produced, which provokes yellowing of the baby. This is the true cause of the physiological jaundice in infants, which usually manifests itself on the second or third day after their birth.

This phenomenon scares parents more than causes a baby a nuisance. The most noticeable yellowing can be on the tenth day after childbirth. But this, fortunately, is considered the norm, and not a nightmarish pathology. The baby will get a normal skin color and sclera, as soon as a small organism has a blood update and the liver functions completely. This process can last from a couple of days to several weeks. Most often, perestroika is completed by the end of the first month of life. Therefore, you do not need to worry ahead of time and sound an alarm.

In addition to everything, so-called children's yellowness can be provoked by jaundice of breast milk, which is also not an acute problem and has a number of physiological causes. Similar changes can last even up to three months, and peak intensity in most cases falls on the fifteenth day. The kid does not feel the slightest discomfort, fully eats and grows.

If for a while to interrupt breastfeeding, the level of bilirubin in crumbs will quickly recover - and everything will pass. However, experts do not recommend doing so, since yellowness does not cause harm, but from the mother's milk the baby receives absolutely all the microelements necessary for development. But, despite the naturalness of this phenomenon, parents still worry about their own child.

Is it dangerous?

Such a reaction of the body to a child on sudden adjustment must necessarily take place under the clear supervision of the pediatrician. Although jaundice is found in almost eighty percent of term donors and almost a hundred percent of premature infants, a doctor's consultation is extremely necessary.

Bilirubin has certain toxic properties, and a prolonged excess of the maximum permissible levels of its content in the blood of the baby can harm the entire body. This can lead to severe intoxication, damage to certain areas of the brain, central nervous system, mental retardation and, in rare cases, death. It is for this reason that the duration of the ailment can not exceed the permissible standards.

It is important to distinguish in a timely manner the normal course of jaundice from a pathological one. The most reliable way is to take a blood test for bilirubin. Specialists note that when the legs of the baby got a normal healthy color, the crisis has already passed, and a fast recovery process has begun.

But there are some signs, the presence of which indicates a pathological form of the disease. It's about a strong strong crying baby, hypertension of the neck muscles, because of what he can not tilt the head. Also, strong cramps and pupils may increase, and body temperature may increase. If such symptoms appear, you should immediately go to the hospital for help.

With natural yellowing of the skin, medication is not required. The organism itself will adapt - and everything will be fine. However, some doctors can advise taking all sorts of diuretics, choleretic medications. But the children's body is unable to process these medicines, so they have many contraindications. Also, to improve the condition of the skin can be appointed special lamp procedures in the clinic.

For self-acceleration of the recovery process, newly mummies are advised to take a broth of dogrose several times a day and continue to breastfeed. No less useful are sunbathing, but it's better to do it in the summer to exclude the possibility of both burns and hypothermia.